Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Liz" <liz@allslash.org>]

> We hugelkultur.  My land is mostly forest. Where I have garden space, the 
> builder of our home bulldozed away ALL topsoil.  We had only subsoil and 
> rock to garden with.  After trying sheet composting and adding purchased 
> topsoil and failing, we found hugelkultur to be THE answer for us.
>
> I've adapted the technique though. Our garden space is on steep hills so 
> each bed is terraced. We dig to a depth of about 24 to 36 inches, fill the 
> hole with our rotted wood, twigs, leaves, kitchen scraps and other 
> compostables. Then we mix the subsoil (nothing grows in it.. not even 
> bermuda) with compost and put that soil back over the piled wood mix.  Any 
> leftover subsoil is used to make rims around beds and trees to help hold 
> in water or to help build in paths and low spots.

Fascinating. I don't think there's any way I could dig 24 to 36 inches deep 
in my clay. It's like concrete to begin with, and on top of that, the land 
was part of a tobacco farm years ago that got plowed year after year after 
year, so there's an even worse layer of hardpan about three feet down. But I 
can go up, in the raised beds I've already got. Have to try that in one that 
I don't have planted yet. You must have some mechanical way to dig. Around 
here it would take a backhoe to go that deep.
>
Thanks for the info. I need to look around and learn more about this.

Liz
http://life-as-a-spectator-sport.com